Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – December 15

Option (c) is incorrect. When a parcel of warm air travels from a low valley region to the foothills of a mountain range, it is forced to rise along the slope of the mountain as it encounters higher terrain. As the air is lifted up the mountain slope, it cools as it rises. This causes clouds and precipitation which falls on the windward slope and at the summit. The Leeward mountain slopes encourage warm and dry climate.

Option (a) is correct. Coastal areas will generally have more moderate temperatures than inland areas because of the heat capacity of the ocean. A continental summer is hotter than a coastal summer, and a continental winter is colder than a coastal winter.

Option (b) is correct. The main reason that the earth experiences highest temperatures in the subtropics in the northern hemisphere rather than at the equator is: Subtropical areas tend to have less cloud cover than equatorial areas. Subtropical areas have longer day hours in the summer than the equatorial.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Seasons are determined by the inclination of the Earth’s rotation axis.

Statement 2 is correct. After the March equinox, the sun’s path gradually drifts northward. By the June solstice, vertical days from sun fall on tropic of cancer (23.5 N).This is the northern most point of vertical rays of sun. Then the sun’s path gradually drifts southward. The southward drift then continues until the December solstice .This is the southernmost point of vertical rays of sun. ie  tropic of Capricorn.(23.5 S) .The sun rays will be vertical in between the tropics.

Statement 3 is correct. Earth revolves about its axis once every 24 hours.  In other words, the Sun completes its apparent revolution of 360 degree in 24 hours.  This means that the Sun crosses each of the 360 meridians of longitude once every 24 hours.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The soil profile is a vertical section of the soil that depicts all of its horizons. A soil horizon makes up a distinct layer of soil. The horizon runs roughly parallel to the soil surface and has different properties and characteristics than the adjacent layers above and below.

Statement 2 is correct. Diastrophism  is the process of movement and deformation of the earth’s crust that gives rise to large-scale features such as continents, ocean basins, and mountains.

Statement 3 is correct. In general, hot wet climates accelerate chemical weathering while cold dry climates accelerate physical weathering.

All the statements are correct. The convectional rainfall is prevalent in equatorial regions. In these, the warm air rises up and expands then, reaches at a cooler layer and saturates, then condenses mainly in the form of cumulus or cumulonimbus clouds. In the equatorial regions, the precipitation due to convectional rainfall occurs in the afternoon. The rainfall is of very short duration but in the form of heavy showers. The belt of doldrums generally receives this type of rainfall. Convectional rainfall is less effective for crops as much of its water is drained off in the form of surface drainage.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Burning of fossil fuels is a reason for Global warming. It is not an aftereffect of Global warming

Global warming, is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth’s climate system and its related effects.Rising health related issues, Deterioration of Carbon sinks etc are other impacts of global warming.

As condensation occurs and liquid water forms from the vapor, the water molecules become organized in a less random structure, which is less random than in vapor, and heat is released into the atmosphere as a result.

Condensation is the process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water. Condensation is crucial to the water cycle because it is responsible for the formation of clouds.

All the above statements are correct. An anti-cyclone is a wind system which has high air- pressure at centre and low at outer margin, with the wind flowing clockwise around it in the Northern Hemisphere, and counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. Thus, they are high pressure system, more common in subtropical high pressure belt but practically absent in equatorial region. They are associated with rainless fair weather. The outward movement of wind from the high pressure centre keeps limited scope for disturbance.